Strategic materials in Government inventories in relation to strategic stockpile maximum objectives, as of Dec. 31, 1961 (specification grades; quantities in thousands)-Continued [Figures in parentheses are upgraded forms of preceding items and are included in the figures for that item] Phlogopite splittings....... Description EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OFFICE OF EMERGENCY PLANNING DESCRIPTIVE DATA-STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MATERIALS ALUMINUM Aluminum is about one-third as heavy as steel and is produced commercially in larger quantities and at lower prices than any other light metal. Bauxite is the only ore used commercially. It is processed to extract alumina (aluminum oxide) which is reduced to metal in electrolytic cells. About 10 kilowatts of electricity are required per pound of metal produced. Uses Aluminum has a wide range of applications, usually as an alloy. Forms range from foil, powder, wire, and sheet to plates, castings, forgings, and extrusions. Mobilization needs are diverse, including aircraft and many other defense items. Substitutes Magnesium, stainless steel, and plastics offer limited substitution possibilities but without identical results. Titanium, a much scarcer and higher cost metal, may replace aluminum in certain temperature ranges. Sources The aluminum production of the United States depends to a major extent upon bauxite imported from Surinam, British Guiana, and Jamaica, although some metallurgical bauxite is produced in Arkansas. Output is centered near power sources in the Pacific Northwest, the Texas-Louisiana gulf area, the Tennessee Valley-Arkansas area, northern New York State, and the Ohio Valley. Imports come from Canada and Western Europe. Description ALUMINUM OXIDE, FUSED, CRUDE A synthetic or manufactured aluminum oxide produced by fusing abrasive grade bauxite at high temperature in an electric furnace. The fused mass is crushed and graded into particle sizes which are of greater uniformity in structure, lower in price, and more readily obtainable than natural abrasives. Uses For the manufacture of grinding wheels, sharpening stones, and coated abrasives such as sheets, belts, disks, and sleeves; as a grinding powder or in lapping compounds. Substitutes Natural corundum (more friable, but breaking with sharper angular fracture), diamonds (hardest, but most expensive abrasive), silicon carbide (hardest synthetic abrasive), garnet, and emery. Each would be an adequate substitute in its respective field, but usually more costly per unit of product. Sources A small area around two major electric power sites on the border of Canada and the United States is the sole source of the U.S. supply. Description ANTIMONY A bluish-white, brittle metal, neither malleable nor ductile, which is easily reduced to powder. It has the general physical properties of a metal and the chemical properties of a nonmetal. It has no important use alone as a metal. Uses Alloys containing antimony expand on cooling and thus reproduce fine details of a mold. Its chief uses in metals are for lead hardening, solder, battery plates, cable coverings, type metal, and to impart hardness and a smooth surface to soft-metal alloys such as babbitt bearings. Nonmetallic uses are for frits enamelmaking powder) and ceramic enamels; paints and lacquers, flame proofing of textiles, Navy antifouling paints, and ammunition primers. Substitutes Additions of very small quantities of arsenic (up to 14 percent to the antimonial lead used for battery plates permits a 40- to 60-percent reduction in the amount of antimony required. Calcium is sometimes used in lieu of antimony in battery plates. Plastics are now being used for covering some types of cable thus providing a substitute for both the lead and antimony. Copper, lead, zinc, titanium, and mercury are substitutes in some paints and enamels. Sources Metal imports generally come from Belgium-Luxemburg, United Kingdom, Mexico, and Yugoslavia; however, the greatest source of antimony is the sulphide ore (stibnite) imported from Bolivia, Mexico, Peru, and Union of South Africa. Other recent sources of minor amounts are Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and Netherlands. Currently, the U.S. production of antimony is practically nil except for some recovery in antimonial lead produced directly from antimonial lead ores. Description ASBESTOS, AMOSITE A class of South African asbestos, characterized by long, course, resilient fibers which are difficult to spin. It comes in both white and dark grades, with fiber length up to 11⁄2 inches. Uses The principal use of amosite is as a thermal insulating material. It is felted for use on steam boilers and machinery and molded for pipe covering on ships of the Navy, Coast Guard, and Maritime Commission, where light weight and compactness are needed. Substitutes No substitute materials have comparable physical, chemical, and insulating qualities for the same weight per unit of insulating surface. Lower grade asbestos and Fiberglas are emergency substitutes. The cost of Fiberglas for this application is considerably greater than asbestos. A domestically produced new synthetic substitute is as yet more costly and not satisfactory for all uses. Sources The only known commercial source is located in the Transvaal, Union of South Africa. It is imported as crude asbestos. The fiberizing and processing into blankets and shapes is done domestically. Description ASBESTOS, CHRYSOTILE (LOW IRON) Strategic grades of chrysotile asbestos have strong, flexible fibers long enough to be spun into yarn and are virtually free of magnetite or other iron content. Uses As a dielectric insulation for cable, industrial electrical equipment, and magnet wire. It can be readily used, but is not required, in other asbestos textiles. Substitutes There is no completely satisfactory substitute for strategic grades although glass fiber and fabric yarns can be added, as an extender, to reduce the quantity of asbestos required. Other spinning grades of chrysotile, which are more readily available, are not acceptable for these specific uses in electrical equipment because of the relatively high iron content. The new domestically produced synthetic substitute is more costly and not yet satisfactory. Sources Arizona produces a A Canadian mine is the principal source for U.S. users. minor amount. Imports are in crude form. Processing and spinning are done domestically. The former Southern Rhodesian source is exporting only small amounts to the United States. Description BAUXITE Bauxite is a mixture of minerals composed principally of hydrous oxides of aluminum. There are two basic ore types: a trihydrate (gibbsite) and the alpha monohydrate (boehmite). North and South American deposits are largely trihydrate. Caribbean are a mixture of trihydrate and monohydrate. For purposes of distinction, the trihydrate is arbitrarily labeled "Surinam type" and the mixed-Caribbean, "Jamaica type." Uses Metallurgical grade (about 80 percent of total bauxite production is in this grade) used for the production of aluminum metal. Refractory grade, high alumina cement and refractories. Abrasive grade, synthetic abrasives. Chemical grade, purification of municipal water supplies and catalysts in petroleum refining. Substitutes Domestic clays, principally anorthosite. The technology of alumina production from domestic clays has been worked out, but cost is higher than that of production from bauxite. Sources United States, Surinam, British Guiana, Jamaica, Haiti/Dominican Republic. Other important world sources not normally supplying U.S. market: France, Hungary, Greece, Pacific Islands, Indonesia, Yugoslavia. Description BERYL The chief ore of the very hard metallic element beryllium, beryl contains only about 8 to 14 percent of beryllium oxide, 36 percent of which is beryllium. Commercial grades of beryl average 200 to 220 pounds of beryllium oxide per ton of ore. The metal content per ton of ore is therefore about 80 pounds. Processing losses, however, are high. Uses Beryllium is used principally as an alloying element with copper to produce a tough, hard alloy which has great resistance to fatigue and shock and does not lose its hardness at high temperatures. Springs, diaphragms, bearings and bushings are produced from beryllium-copper alloys. Other uses requiring beryllium alloys are nonsparking safety tools, spot-welding electrodes, and high stress castings. Unalloyed beryllium metal is used in nuclear reactors, cyclotrons, space draft, missiles, and X-ray windows. Substitutes No substitute imparting comparable hardness to copper alloys is known. A copper-nickel silicon alloy (4.5-9 percent nickel) is an acceptable substitute for many industrial springs and diaphragms. Sources Brazil, Argentine, India, Australia, South Africa, United States. Description BISMUTH Bismuth is a grayish white, brittle, hard, easily powered metal, with a reddish tinge. It is derived mainly from residue in lead and copper smelting but is also sometimes found in native form. It has a low melting point (271° C.) and expands 3.3 percent on crystallization. Uses About 20 percent of the bismuth is used in the form of salts in pharmaceuticals such as stomach remedies, antiseptics and astringents, emolients and as aid to X-ray definition due to its opaqueness. It is used in metallurgy to lower the melting point of tin and lead alloys, including ammunition and solders. It is also used to add luster and hardness to lead alloys and to regulate or eliminate shrinkage in casting metal in molds. Fusible alloys containing high percentages of bismuth are used in spotting and anchoring dies, in patternmaking and in the bending of thin wall tubing. These alloys are also used as release links or plugs in sprinkler and alarm systems and other thermal safety devices. Bismuth is also used in tube drawing and as thermocouple wire. |